Promise 16: Lower cost of doing business in the country

Economy

The Promise
''We will increase investments to provide quality jobs for Filipinos by lowering the costs of doing business in our country.

''We will level the playing field for businesses. We will encourage free and fair competition in a level playing field that stresses that one need not be a crony in order to be successful in this country. We will make our bidding and procurement policies and processes more transparent, and punish those who seek to circumvent procurement laws through collusion and other illegal means.

''We will have easier, streamlined business procedures. We will transform our systems to foster service to the public. We will streamline the approval process, not only for setting up new businesses but also in the regular day-to-day transactions with government, such as the payment of taxes. We will do this on a national as well as the local level.''

July 21, 2014 - Bank employees are opposed to the full entry of foreign banks in the Philippines, claiming a negative effect on labor and the banking public. The group, composed of members of the Banking and Financial Union against BSP Circular 268 and its Related Succeeding Circulars (BFU 268), said that allowing full foreign ownership to banks may lead to layoffs and salary downgrades. (Continue reading)

July 21, 2014 - Philippine President Benigno Aquino has signed into law a bill allowing foreign banks to take full control of local lenders, in line with the government's push to strengthen the country's capital and financial markets. (Continue reading)

February 24, 2014 - Attracting more foreign investments is one of the reasons why the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has called for the removal of the limit on the number of foreign banks that can enter the country. (Continue reading)

November 30, 2013 - Investment commitments approved by the Board of Investments (BOI) in the January to October period grew by 18 percent from a year ago on strong business confidence amid favorable economic conditions. (Continue reading)

July 15, 2012: The Department of Trade and Industry was set to hold consultations with local stakeholders later this month to come up with recommendations to encourage more investments in the creative industries sector.(Continue reading)

June 18, 2012: Malaysia’s Alloy MTD Group reinvested in the country a P22 billion worth of projects from last January’s sale of its South Luzon Expressway operation to a consortium led by San Miguel Corp. (Continue reading)

June 07, 2012: Philippine’s 13 investments promotion agencies signed a memorandum of agreement to pursue an integrated investment promotion program to achieve their P870 billion investment target for the year. (Continue reading)

October 12, 2010 - In line with the Aquino administration’s thrust to create a business-friendly environment to attract more investments, President Benigno S. Aquino III unveiled on Tuesday a faster Business Name Registration System (eBNRS) at the Department of Trade and Industry –National Capital Region Area 3 office at Highway 54 in Mandaluyong City. (Continue reading)

August 7, 2010 - To speed up issuance of business permits and licenses, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) launched on Friday a project to streamline these processes in cities and municipalities. (Continue reading)